Harry Potter and the Story About Someone Else
by WaterInAPuddle
Summary: This is the story of Sarah, a normal muggle of today's society. To Sarah, people such as Harry Potter were alive only in stories and fan fictions, of course. But something strange happens to Sarah, who finds herself in a world that never seemed possible
1. The Girl Who Lived

Year, Disclaimer and all that good stuff: Fall 2003. I have to go back in time to make myself happy with my tale! Plus, most of my characters that do NOT belong to J.K. herself tend to be umm, real people. Or they are people whose name I had heard and liked. But really, I hate to say, I did not make anyone up *sob* I just used people I knew and made them umm fictional. And any characters that appear in the Harry Potter books do in fact belong to J.K. Rowling and I am merely using them to make people happy *cough SARAH cough* Also, the setting after Virginia belongs to J.K. and I cannot claim the Virginia setting as it's not even my own! For crying out loud, the dog even exists! Anyway, I've carried on too long and must work on Sarah's Tale (what I call it), which I hope to rename at a later date. The title was just my hypernish speaking.  
  
C.1: THE GIRL WHO LIVED (this is subject to change)  
  
It would be nice to say that it was a dark, stormy night when it all began. It would be nice to say that the thunder ripped through the clouds and lightning lit her room. It would help her mind except such things. It would be nice to say that the rain poured down, echoing the sorrow felt. But it would not be true. Her tale is not one to start off on such a note. It was average, like her. And she spent an average, dull Virginian fall school night typing online to various people through her instant messenger.  
  
blackwerewolf3: man, I'm still waiting for my Hogwart's letter.  
  
mangaangel87: lol. me too.  
  
blackwerewolf3: do you realize we've harry pottered and lord of the ringsed the entire day?  
  
mangaangel87: yeah *sigh* i really should write that friggin paper but the book was so dumb  
  
blackwerewolf3: brb, scarlet wants out.  
  
Of course, she did not realize that the conversation would end there for the time being. She went on her way, much as she always had. She took Scarlet to the door, and, being the dumb mutt she was, the girl had to keep an eye on her. So when lightning flashed suspiciously from the cloudless sky, she did not notice. And it flashed. It flashed in so closed to her that the world went black.  
  
Meanwhile, across the ocean and leaving London as the 11:00 train from platform 9 and ¾ travels, the grounds to Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry, were seemingly empty. That was due to dinnertime and hundreds of hungry students. They were in a grand hall, the Great Hall, as it was called. They were busy listening to the grumblings of their stomachs to pay much attention to the aging man talking at the front of the room. His hair was nearly all gray, his half-moon glasses reflecting the light of the room.  
  
'Before we begin eating, I would like to say a few words. First off, the Forbidden Forest, as always, is off limits to EVERYBO-'  
  
Just then something fell down and landed on the ground with a THUMP.  
  
'It's a girl!' One of the Hufflepuffs stood up and stated.  
  
'No duh it's girl,' remarked a Slytherin. 'The question is, not what is she, but who is she and what she is doing here?'  
  
'Does it matter as long as she gets help!' screamed a young, brunette woman as she bent to help the fallen girl. 'Accio Stretcher!' As the stretcher came, she looked to the Hufflepuff table and called, 'Ziff! Johnson! Help me carefully put her on the stretcher. Wingardium Leviosa!' The lady then proceeded to take her out of the room.  
  
Green eyes fluttered awake and stared at the surrounding room. Where the heck was she? This certainly wasn't her back yard and she didn't remember any rooms in her house looking like this. It vaguely reminded her of a hospital room. Then she remembered the odd lightning. Where in the world did it come from? Maybe I am in a hospital, she thought to herself. She didn't think that the lightning hit her but it could have. Then the door walked in and a young brunette in a white nurses uniform came in.  
  
'Oh I see you finally woke up. I'm Madame Kaazebra, nurse to the hospital wing.' The nurse informed her patient. 'And you are?'  
  
'Sarah,' she croaked. 'How long have I been out?'  
  
'Only for the night, Sarah. Professor Dumbledore will want a word with you now that you have woken, I bet. Well, I shall go get you something to eat.' Madame Kaazebra walked out of the room.  
  
Sarah stared at her surroundings. Her light brown hair fluttered about the pillow. She struggled to sit up and threw her hair back with an elastic on her wrist, a grumbling erupting from her stomach. She then proceeded to look around the room. There were a few gifts on a table beside her. She picked a box up and looked at it. It took a smile from her as she read what it was: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Well, the box looks different, wonder who they're from, she thought lazily.  
  
Hey, I'm Alexander Ziff, a sixth year here at Hogwarts. I hope  
that the fall wasn't too bad and you'll be up soon. Lots of us,  
students I mean, are wondering where you come from. Are you an  
exchanged student? Is that how exchange students travel? Oops.  
Looks like I'm bombarding you with questions. And you're  
supposed to be recovering too!  
Sorry and Get Well Soon,  
Alexander B. Ziff  
  
Her mouth hung open as she read the note. Hogwarts? Falling? Was she asleep? This was like the Wizard of Oz, wasn't it? Uh-oh Scarlet, I'm not in Hampton anymore. She read the other notes; this one must be a joke. Maybe Katy sent it to her thinking it would be funny. After all, weren't they talking about Hogwarts before she went to let Scarlet out?  
  
The other Get Well cards and notes were all along the same lines. Was this some kind of sick joke? None of these people she knew, Mark Johnson, Mary Ann Eluch, and Chi Chong. There were more, but none of those did she recognize. What was going on? Her question would soon be answered. 


	2. Dealing Out Fiction

C.2 Dealing Out Fiction  
  
*Sigh* I still don't have the rights to Harry Potter and everything related. They're still J.K.'s. Also, thanks to my reviewers! I do take to heart what you write to me.it makes me happy, even the criticisms. One can only get better, I hope.  
  
Madame Kaazebra returned with a tray. She placed it down in front of Sarah and said, 'Eat up. It's good for you. Also, once you are done, Shadow here'-she pointed to a black puppy-'will come get me. The Headmaster would like to have a word with you.'  
  
Headmaster? She thought as she ate the soup. What a funny name for the director. The nurse had mentioned his name earlier. What was it she had called him? Alba Dorie? No it had started with a 'd.' Hmm. Dinquel? No, wait.Dumbledore? Ha ha, no way. She had her mind stuck in Potterworld! If not that then it was Lord of the Rings hands down. How is Katy getting along without me? She wondered.  
  
The door opened. A little black puppy dog entered and took her tray from her. Man, that is one trained dog, she thought. I can't believe it can carry the tray it's almost as big as he is! And with that thought the dog left her alone in the room.  
  
The door opened a minute later with the aging man whose glasses were absent. Sarah opened her eyes wide with shock. Her mouth hung agape as she watched Gandalf enter the room. Then she laughed at her self. No, it can't be Gandalf! It could be Dumbledore, that started with a 'd,' but Gandalf, the last time she had checked, started with a 'g!' No, no, no, she continued to laugh at herself. They were both fictional characters. Real to her and a few others, but could they truly exist in this world?  
  
She stopped laughing to learn that the old guy was just staring at her like she was some alien or had no manners or something. She couldn't help it that he reminded her of all these fictional characters. Man, and then there was all of those parodies.like the one where Frodo and Sam are transported to Hogwarts and see Dumbledore and called him Gandalf. They were like interchangeable characters, right?  
  
He was staring at her. The look on his face made her sense that she should say something. 'I'm sorry I was laughing. It's just you remind me of some characters in some stories I've read. And just thinking such characters existed made me laugh.' She looked away. Great, I'm getting myself in trouble and I just woke up!  
  
He shook his head and with eyes twinkling replied, 'No need to apologize. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore an-'  
  
'NUH-UH! No fucking way.' She interrupted him. 'You were paid to say that weren't you? Who paid you? Was it Katy? I bet she thought that this would be a funny joke. What's next? This isn't a hospital, but the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts? Puh-lease! You can't fool me. I'm going to kill Katy when I see her next. It was her wasn't it?'  
  
'I have known many a Katie in all my years at Hogwarts, but I would not lie. I do not have any clue as to what you are talking about.'  
  
'It's ok. You don't have to tell me. I know it's Katy. So when do I get out of here?'  
  
'Well, first I would like to find out what happened, but that can be conducted in my office if this room is to your distaste. Which would you prefer?'  
  
'I guess I was struck by lightning. I don't really remember. I was letting Scarlet out, that's my dog, and there was a bright flash and here I am. Bet it was the lightning, wasn't it?'  
  
Dumbledore stood and thought for a minute. 'Perhaps we should go to my office. Follow me, Miss-?'  
  
'Sarah Gregory.' She replied.  
  
'Come along, Miss Gregory.' And with that he left the room.  
  
She hopped out of bed wearing the jeans and shirt she had been yesterday. No hospital gown, thank God. She found her shoes by the bedside and put them on. Then she went off after the Professor, if that's who he really is.  
  
They meandered through corridor after corridor, following the flow of stairs in between. For the start of their journey, Sarah really wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. Something was strange and she just couldn't put her finger on it. Then she did conscientiously look around her as they walked. That was it! They weren't in a hospital. It was stony.like a castle. That's strange. Hmm. But it wasn't something to worry about. This could just be some strange hospital. Of course, she couldn't think of any hospitals that would look like this in Hampton, or the surrounding peninsula.  
  
They were now walking down a long corridor with pictures hanging on either side of her. Out of curiosity, Sarah began to glance at the picture, at first not taking note of their peculiarities. Then she stopped at a picture in which two ladies were having tea. There's nothing odd about this, she told herself. It's normal. Ladies drink tea and artists paint it. No, this one was different. She was enthralled. But what was it? The cup moved. The lady was drinking from the cup. That was what was so different.  
  
Then she looked around the rest of the room only to notice that ALL of the pictures were moving some way or another. One picture had a knight galloping and fighting the same dragon over and over again. However, each time he would go after the dragon, he would do so in a different way.  
  
She moved further down the hall to come across a portrait of a man with a sinister bar handle moustache. His eyes were darting around in the picture much like the portraits from the Scooby-Doo cartoons she watched. She could stretch things and make them fit. This was all a huge practical joke and she'd be on Candid Camera or the Jaime Kennedy Experiment or something. Or perhaps she was just asleep.  
  
She had made it only halfway through the hall when she noticed Dumbledore standing at the end of the hall waiting for her to catch up. She stopped admiring the pictures and ran the rest of the length of the hall. 


	3. Into the Headmaster's Office

C.3 Into the Headmaster's Office Disclaimer: Don't own Potterworld ( Probably never will  
  
As soon as she caught up, he turned and they traveled on through more corridors. Then they came to a halt in front of a gargoyle statue. She stared at it.  
  
'Lemon Drops!' Dumbledore exclaimed. And with that, creaking and groaning began. When it had stopped, Sarah found herself staring at spiral staircase. If she had blinked, she would have missed the gargoyle springing to the side, and the walls cracking open to show its insides. But, luckily, she didn't. She had seen it all.  
  
Dumbledore then began the decent up the stairs. Sarah followed shortly after him. Didn't the stairs move in the book? Ha. Knew it wasn't real. She told herself during the climb upward. It just can't be.  
  
The next thing she knew she was right outside of his office. His office was a large, circular room, emitting weird noises. Stepping inside, she looked around and saw pictures upon pictures of former headmasters. Then she directed her attention to a table filled with whirly-gigs. That's where the noise was coming from. She didn't know what half of them was supposed to be. Come to think of it, she didn't know what any of them was supposed to be. So, she shifted her gaze and noticed a bird. It was a red bird, with small eyes and a long golden tail. I wonder what type of bird you are. You'd be perfect as a phoenix of legends. She sighed as she gawked at the bird.  
  
'Er-hem.' Dumbledore cleared his throat and motioned towards a chair. 'If you would kindly take a seat.'  
  
'Sure,' Sarah muttered as she sat in the chair he had motioned to.  
  
He sat there for a few minutes deep in thought. What was he thinking of? She pondered that for a bit and then gave her attention to the surrounding room. After gazing at the whirly-gigs some more and wondering what they did, if anything, she noticed something shiny glittering next to her. She directed her attention just to see the bird. But then she noticed a black cabinet resting behind the red and gold. Wow. Katy couldn't have paid for them to do all of this. Maybe she had others in on it. Maybe if a bunch of her friends collaborated they could've paid to give her a laugh when she woke up. She was silently laughing, very amused. They must really care to go through all of this, she silently mused.  
  
'Where to begin,' muttered the man in front of her. She looked at him. 'Perhaps with the beginning.' He sighed. 'This will not be easy. I believe that the lightning that struck you was not mere lightning. Somehow, you were transported here, to Hogwarts. Maybe there is a reason that I cannot think of. But whatever it is, you are here. There is nothing I can do to send you back home. I believe that it will be best if you attend the remainder of your studies here at Hogwarts. May I inquire as to your age?'  
  
Sarah stared at him. Double-u tee eff. 'Umm. Seventeen. I don't see what this has to do with anything.' She had lied. It was close though. She was sixteen. But she would be turning seventeen in November.  
  
'Ahh,' he said. 'A seventh year. Well, let's see where we shall place you.' He took a hat down from a neighboring shelf. God, what an ugly hat. It was all patched and frayed as if it was as old as Father Time, himself. He handed her the hat. She stared at it. She was surprised it hadn't disintegrated when she touched it. 'Just put it on,' the man who called himself Dumbledore encouraged.  
  
She sat there feeling like a retard with an old patched hat on her head. She had thought of refusing but the old man had insisted to the point where she figured he was getting paid high enough to take her crap. She wasn't expecting anything to happen by placing it on her head. But things aren't always what you expect.  
  
'Hmm.' An unfamiliar voice muttered inside of her head. She nearly flipped. The hat has a voice inside of it. Clever. 'Let's see. You are quite the creative one. However, you were not meant to take the life of a Ravenclaw. No, not Slytherin either. You can be shrewd but this house is not your destination. Hmm. You are rather friendly but you would not fit in with other Hufflepuffs.' Sarah wanted to die laughing. This was just too great. They really out did themselves. 'There is only one house that would fit to you. And that's.' the voice no longer was in her head as it shouted 'GRYFFINDOR!'  
  
She couldn't hold in the need to laugh. It started with a low chuckle, but it continually got louder. She was bawling it out in a few seconds. 'This.is.too.much.' She mumbled between laughs.  
  
'I do not see what is so funny, Ms. Gregory,' stated Dumbledore. 'You must not think this place is real and I cannot understand that. Do you learn nothing of other wizarding schools in America?'  
  
She felt her face going red, as she didn't answer. Was it possible that this was somehow true? She wasn't going to say anything. Either this joke was getting sick or it was true. If it is true, then I shouldn't mention anything about my not attending wizarding schools. At least, this way I can enjoy something here.  
  
'I see you do not feel the need to answer me. Lunch should be served in the halls soon. I shall show you the way. After that, I will have a fellow Gryffindor show you the way around Hogwarts. I will inquire upon your studies at a later date. You will just have to attend her classes for the time being.' With that said, the old man stood up and made his way towards the door. Sarah stood as well, a bit dazed. What if it was real? She followed him out of the door and down the twisting stairs.  
  
'I'm getting to old for this,' he muttered once he reached the bottom.  
  
'Then why don't you make them move, like an escalator?' Sarah could not believe she had just said that. And from the looks on Dumbledore's face, he couldn't either.  
  
'Not a bad idea, Ms. Gregory,' Dumbledore smiled. 'Follow me, and watch your step. Never know what tricks the students might be playing upon ach other.' They then headed towards the Great Hall, Sarah's stomach grumbling in anticipation. 


	4. The Great Hall

C.4 The Great Hall Disclaimer: I disclaim all. A/N: I'm going to post a whole bunch of chapters tonight as I have had them for weeks now. Okay, days, but still. I'm working on chapter seven as we speak and these first chapters don't have much of Remus. It's more of Sarah adjusting to her surroundings. Also, none of this is planned so ideas are most welcome! All I know is that this story will somehow end up with a SG- RL ship! Sarah doesn't count as an OC as she isn't a character but a real person. That's all I'll say for now. :) Oh, and Jasmine I did make up for a bit of flavor. And that's it, all I have to say I mean.  
  
She found herself standing in front of two giant oak doors. The headmaster had already headed off, he merely told her to follow the hall to these doors. There was some kind of entrance for staff and faculty. Or maybe it's just faculty? Anyways, she was standing here in front of the doors and now what? She took a deep breath and walked in, expecting her friends to be on the other side waiting for her.  
  
She gasped as she entered. There was no way in the world this was staged. No way in the fucking world. There were candles all afloat throughout the hall. There was no way they were chained or hanging from wires. There was no way in the world. She would have seen that, wouldn't she? They were just millions of candles floating. But then she made the mistake of looking up.  
  
The ceiling was gorgeous. It looked as if it was the sky. I wonder if it's raining today? she thought. For the sky above her was gray and tiny water drops fell from it. She followed the raindrops with her eyes. However, the raindrops never made it down towards the people. Instead, she found herself staring at four long tables. Which was which? They all looked the same to her.  
  
Then she found herself face to face to a pretty girl with a head full of red hair. Her green eyes held a smile. 'You must be the new Gryffindor, er, Sarah Gregory. Am I right?' Sarah nodded. 'You're supposed to follow me to my classes today. Professor Dumbledore told me so. Just follow me,' she stated once she noticed Sarah's confusion over the tables. 'This one's Gryffindor's.' She led the way to the Gryffindor table.  
  
She sat down next to a girl with medium brown hair. The girl immediately asked her, 'Why aren't you eating with Potter today?' Sarah keened in once she heard the word Potter.  
  
'I don't have to eat with my boyfriend every day,' the redhead declared. 'But I'm showing her'-she pointed at Sarah-'around and I don't want them to scare her.'  
  
'They would scare her off, wouldn't they,' the brunette giggled. 'Too bad neither are my boyfriend,' she sighed. 'Not that the other two are bad in anyway, but those two are the cutest and you've already claimed Potter.'  
  
The redhead shook her head. 'By the way, Sarah, this is Jasmine McCormick and I don't think I told you that my name is Lily Evans.'  
  
'Pleased to meet you,' Jasmine smiled.  
  
'Nice to meet you,' Sarah replied. She then sat down at the table. To her joy, every kind of food imaginable was displayed for their eating enjoyment. Or rather, there were many types of dishes available, not everything, and she rather felt overwhelmed by the selection.  
  
She was finishing her lunch when a huge eruption of laughter came from the other side of the table. She glanced down that way, her eyes caught on a blonde boy. God, was he hot. His ears looked slightly pointed though. She frowned. Well, he's still hot. She shrugged and went back to eating, not even curious about what had just happen to make all of those people laugh.  
  
Lily glanced down at the far end of the table. She sighed, 'man, why didn't we hook up sooner?' She looked at Jasmine quizzically.  
  
Jasmine laughed. 'It's your entire fault really. You were the one who kept turning the poor guy down. By the way, why did you turn him down?'  
  
She shook her head. 'No reason.' She glanced at the cloudy roof.  
  
Jasmine sighed. 'Don't lie to me, Lily. You couldn't tell a lie to save your life.'  
  
Lily smiled. 'Of course not. I guess that's good in it's own way.' She stopped talking, smiling widely.  
  
Jasmine looked at her after a few moments' silence. 'Well.?' she inquired.  
  
'Well what?' Lily tried to pull it off. 'Oh all right. You remember how he used to tease Severus Snape?'  
  
'Who?' Jasmine asked. 'Oh, wait! You mean Snivellus.'  
  
'Oh don't call him that! That's so mean,' Lily remarked. 'But anyways, James stopped torturing the poor boy. That's when we started dating.'  
  
Jasmine looked as if she was going to remark on that last statement on her beau, but decided not to. Lily hadn't noticed. She was gazing fondly in James' direction. Sarah, however, had caught it all and knew what Jasmine was going to say. After all, J. K. did mention it in the 5th book.  
  
After a few minutes silence, Jasmine decided she'd be the one to break the ice. 'Well, if you don't mind me, I should be heading off to class. It was nice meeting you.Sarah, right?' She extended her hand. Sarah nodded and shook the extended hand amiably. Jasmine then left.  
  
Lily snapped out of her James reverie with Jasmine's exit. 'Come on,' said a smiling Lily. 'We must get to my next class. It's Potions. The professor, Professor Mackeney, doesn't like students to be late. He's rather strict, but it's a fun class.' She got up and grabbed her school bag. Sarah followed her out of the hall. 


	5. Enter the Wolf

C5 Enter the Wolf  
  
Disclaimer: Still don't own those rights A/N: hmm. Last one for right now. Six and seven will be forthcoming by the end of the weekend, I hope.  
  
Sarah found herself following Lily through many twisted passages. Then they began a descent downstairs. Damn, it's cold. Should've brought a coat. Then Sarah thought about clothes. What would she do about clothes in the next few weeks, months? Well, this was something she would just have to ask at a later time. They entered a rather dank room. Great, dank and dark. Just what I need. Won't catch pneumonia now.  
  
Sarah was given the seat next to her. She looked around at her surroundings. There were potions floating everywhere. She frowned. Just like Severus Snape's room. But of course this would not be his potion's class. Well, unless he happened to be attending class. But that truly was a horse of a different color.  
  
The teacher entered the room and just glance at her. 'You must be the new student, Ms. Sarah Gregory. I do not expect you to complete the following potion marked up on the board. However, perhaps Ms. Evans might need your help? You are welcome to help her out if she needs it.'  
  
More out of curiosity than anything else led Sarah to copy down the potion recipe. Maybe it would help her later. Ha. Doubtfully. She had finally accepted that this place was just too much for Katy and them to pay for. Maybe it was a dream, but it definitely wasn't a joke. Her heart sank then. After waiting for her Hogwart's letter, she received it, in a way, only to remember that she truly couldn't do magic. What the hell was she supposed to do? She could act dumb or just rebel.  
  
'Hey, do you mind cutting these for me? You can use this for cutting them. Please?'  
  
Sarah thought for a second. She couldn't do magic. But cutting the ingredients? Come on, now. That's like cooking. She didn't have an adversity to cooking. She wasn't half-bad at either, if she did say so herself. So Sarah took the ingredients that needed to be cut, the knife, and used her written instructions to see if there was any specific way to cutting them.  
  
Let's see. The scarab beetles must be cut lengthways, so that the head is in two. Ok. That's not too bad. She did that, marking how the guts oozed out of beetle as she cut it. Now that's a bit gross. Next one, Ginger roots must be cut into twenty equal pieces. Gulp. This will be tricky. She pulled out the ginger roots surprised that they turned out to be square roots. How strange, she muttered as she cut them. Then came Joudran. This plant needed to be cut nicely, not chopped. Equality wasn't as important as neatness. And on went the list, some being easier to cut then others. She finished with a hefty amount of time left. But of course she didn't know that.  
  
Lily took the ingredients, as she needed them. Sarah was finished before Lily finished her potion so she sat and thought. This wasn't too bad. If only the other classes were as easy as this. Or perhaps she thought that this class was easy because it didn't require magic. Thank God she didn't have a wand. Can't do magic without a wand. Well, maybe it is possible but how would she now how to do something like that? Anyways, Potions wasn't bad. It was like Chemistry but different ingredients. She might even be able to pass this course. But only if she could learn a bit more about Potions before she goes to the next class.  
  
Lily finished the potion. Professor Mackeney came over and inspected the potion; she was the only one that he did that to. Must be because of me, thought Sarah.  
  
'Hmm. Very good job, Ms. Evans. Not forgetting Ms. Gregory, you did a fine job as well.' He took the vial, which Lily had filled with her potion, and headed back to his desk, placing the potion among the others resting upon it. Sarah couldn't believe it. She did it right. Ha. Who says muggles can't do anything magical? She kept thinking about her good job. Then she picked up her paper with the potion written on it, folded it and placed it into her pocket. She even forgot the dilemma about her clothing situation. Life was good. She followed Lily out of the Potions classroom.  
  
Unfortunately, that's when she stopped paying attention. If she had been, she would have heard Lily's warning to watch her step. But as it was, she was just hoping that she wouldn't have to perform any magic and happy that she would at least be able to do Potions. It was while thinking of this that she stepped upon the ground and found it slippery. She fell down. 'Fuck,' she muttered as she hit the floor.  
  
A hand was extended down to help her up. She looked up and found herself staring into a pair of gorgeous golden eyes. It was him, the hot guy at her table. She took his hand as he helped her to her feet.  
  
'I'm Sarah.' She told him.  
  
He smiled. 'I'm-'  
  
'This is the moonmeister.' A black haired boy interrupted him. 'And I am Sirius. Sirius is my name that is. This is James and Peter.' He pointed to a boy wearing frames and having messy black hair and a small, mousy boy. 'I'm sorry, but we must really be going, places to rob, people to scam, you know, the usual. Oh, don't look shocked. I am only kidding. But we really must be heading off. Come, my moonmeister.' With that, Sirius headed off, dragging James, Peter and Moonmeister.  
  
'What a strange name' she muttered to herself. 'There's no way it's the same people. No way in God's green earth.'  
  
Lily came over. 'Sarah, are you alright?'  
  
'Yeah, just fell down. Maybe a few bruises though.' Sarah shrugged. 'Nothing big.'  
  
'Well, Potions is my last class today. Tomorrow, senior classes last longer. That's why they were in such a rush,' she said, referring to the four boys. 'I'll show you to the common room and give you the password. But not under any circumstances are you to tell that password to anyone who is not a Gryffindor.'  
  
Sarah smiled; she knew that. 'That's reasonable.'  
  
'Also, I'll show you where the classrooms are, but I'm not expecting you to remember where any of them are,' Lily smiled. 'So, you can follow me or anyone else in class around for a bit, as long as they don't mind. And the Great Hall, that's where we eat. I'll show how to get there from the common rooms. And probably seems like a lot, but you get used to it.' She shrugged and they walked out of the frigid dungeon. 


	6. Of Muggles and Witches

C.6 Of Muggles and Witches  
  
A/N: Hmm. I keep writing and writing, but I've been putting up the chapters all this weekend. Iono. Anyways, I'll upload yet another chapter that I had written and then two more that I finished today. One I finished late last night, but still. Here ya go:  
  
Sarah roamed the halls following Lily. She sighed. So far, they had traveled through most of the classrooms and she didn't know how to get to any of them! Well, maybe that's a good thing, she thought. She was still stuck on the question of what to do with her magic situation. Maybe she could hide. They might think she was afraid to be starting a whole new school. She didn't want to leave. No, not with that boy here. Plus, what if he really was Remus Lupin? Lily exists, doesn't she? Not unless this is all some sort of twisted dream. It would be a rather good dream, but waking up would be the hardest thing she ever did.  
  
'This is the Transfiguration classroom.' Lily snapped Sarah from her dreaming. 'Oh,' she said after glancing at the time. 'We better be heading to the Great Hall for supper.'  
  
'Huh? Yeah, ok,' Sarah said, following Lily to a set of stairs. She didn't pay attention. She should have, but couldn't. The boy wasn't foremost on her thoughts as much as the problem with magic was. Maybe if she studied some of the magic words and purposefully got things wrong so as nothing would happen? She knew Wingardium Leviosa, well, if it was a real spell.  
  
She sighed. Where is the library? Maybe she could ask Lily where it is. Her stomach grumbled. Well, it would have to wait until after she had grabbed some grub. Lily sat down by the girl, the one she had met earlier, Jasmine. Yeah, Jasmine McCormick, she thought to herself.  
  
She sat down next to Lily but Jasmine was on the other side. Oh well, she thought as Lily faced towards her friend to talk. She probably isn't excluding me on purpose. Besides, I have problems to fix. What the hell am I to do about this magic? This is a problem. Thanks for the comment, Captain Obvious. I don't believe this! I am arguing with myself. MYSELF!!  
  
She shook her head in disgust. It's one thing to have a problem but then to make fun of yourself? What in the world is my problem? She sighed. She wasn't going to get anywhere tonight. The best she could do is just to go to the library.wait. There was always the Room of Requirements. That might be able to help her. She shook her head. It wouldn't be able to give her the power to wield magic. But it could give her the books she needed to study.  
  
She sat for a few pondering where she might find it, neglecting the food in front of her. Her stomach growled in protest. She stopped, realizing she'd barely touched the food in front of her. The Room of Requirements can wait, she thought to herself. Right now is time to eat! With that she picked up her fork and began eating the mashed potatoes on her plate.  
  
She finished early and sat contemplating about where she might find the Room of Requirements. The Come and Go Room as called by Dobby. Dobby! That's it.no wait.Dobby would be under the care of the Malfoys. Plus, even if she did find him, he probably doesn't know about it now. He most likely learned of it when he arrived.  
  
But where did he say it was? Hmm. The sixth, no seventh, floor. But where on it? Every floor where she had traversed on toady had been rather large, and she didn't even see the entire floor! What was she going to do? Exploring the entire seventh floor was out of the question. But she would have to anyways, wouldn't she? She still didn't know where she was going. Besides, how would she go to the Common Room to sleep? She'd need the password and she'd need to know how to get back.  
  
She sighed. She'd have to go with Lily. Speaking of Lily, where is she? Jasmine was no longer two seats down and Lily had disappeared as well.  
  
Oh well, Sarah thought hopefully. This gives me an excuse to talk to that hot guy. She looked down to where he had sat earlier and, to her surprise, found Lily. She shouldn't have been surprised. James was Remus' friend and she would marry James. They were the parents of Harry after all!  
  
She shook her head in disbelief of her stupidity. How could she have thought such things? Of course Lily wouldn't have abandoned her. Dumbledore would be furious about it. But like it all matters; she'd be sent home tomorrow when they learned she had the magic capabilities of a squib!  
  
She laughed once she thought this. Sent home? She was probably already home snuggled in dreamland. No, better yet, Katyland. She'd be residing all comfortably in Sarah City, Katyland. She laughed as she thought of her friend back home, all of her friends back home and if they could only see her know. She was living her dream, well, sort of. Remus hadn't professed his love for her yet. If he did that.IF.then she'd be in seventh heaven.  
  
She sighed. I wonder how many people are looking at me like I'm some sort of nutcase? She glanced around. Much to her shock, no one even noticed her. Hmm. Shouldn't more people be interested in the 'new kid?' Wasn't that the way things worked? Maybe they saw her laughing at herself and decided it would be best to keep away.  
  
She shook her head at herself, as Lily looked over, disappointed to have to leave James so soon. Lily looked at James and then at Sarah. She whispered something into his ear. Sarah looked over to see that much. She didn't want to be a trouble, really she didn't. But she just couldn't help it. Maybe when she goes to the Room of Requirements she could get a map of the school to help her out. It wouldn't even need to be complete, just so long as it could get her to where she needed to go.  
  
Lily walked over to where Sarah was sitting. 'Would you like to go to the Common Rooms? I mean, if you're done and all.'  
  
Sarah smiled. 'Sure. We can go to the Common Rooms. I need to know where that is anyways. Plus it's been a long day.' She faked a yawn. Why the hell not? If Lily believed she'd be fine by herself or asleep, then it was good for her. First off, she didn't want Lily to follow her around. But primarily, Sarah could tell that she wanted to talk with James or snog him or something. She wasn't sure of the 'or something' but it didn't really matter.  
  
She stood up and followed Lily out of the Hall. She caught up with her and they headed out of the door and up a marble staircase. They traveled through tapestries and sliding walls and then up a few more staircases. She was really worn by the time she made it to a long corridor. At the end of this corridor she saw a portrait of none other than the Fat Lady.  
  
They traveled down the length of the passageway in quiet. The whole way up Lily had asked about muggles in America. Thank God it was muggles and not witches, which she asked about. Sarah would not have known how to answer any questions about witches in America. Yet another thing for me to research, she thought sighing.  
  
The fat lady in the pink silk dress asked, 'Password?'  
  
'Flaming lizards,' Lily replied. Then to Sarah she said, 'you'll need to remember that. You may not be with anyone one time when trying to get in. it probably won't be for a while, but you never know!' She winked at her. 'Also, if you don't mind and all, I'd like to hang out with some, err, friends.' She hastily added, 'I'll show you to the room you'll be staying at though, first.'  
  
Sarah smiled. 'It's fine. You've done a lot for me so far and I bet you'll do more. I can't thank you enough.' She smiled mischievously, 'besides, I know you want to spend some time with your boyfriend-' she pretended to think about it '-James Potter, right?'  
  
Lily blinked and then blushed. 'Yes, I'd like to spend some time with him. But tell me, how did you know that we're dating?'  
  
'Oh, I heard it around,' she wasn't lying. She did read about it in one of J. K.'s five books, but she was almost positive that girl Jasmine had mentioned it.  
  
She crawled into the Common Room after Lily. They walked to a set of stairs and clambered up to a nice oak door at the top. Lily opened the door and pointed to the one bed that had nothing near it, only reminding Sarah that she had no clean clothes for tomorrow.  
  
The room was pretty and if she got bored, Lily informed her that she could always hang out in the Common Room. Also, if she needed anything, someone could always find Lily for her. Then she left. Sarah stood there and watched her leave.  
  
Now I will personally thank all of my wonderful readers, err, and reviewers.  
  
Twin Kats: Thanks for being the daring first one! ;)  
  
Janina Edwards: You do know that Sarah is my friend and really exists, right? Of course you do! I just get too anal for my own good.  
  
Neoma: Thank you ^-^ I have a cool fan fic *gushes*  
  
Yep. All 3 of them.too darn impatient to let chapters I have written sit for a week like I was planning on. *shrugs* oh well. Maybe I'll have more at the end?? 


	7. Room of Requirement

C.7 The Room of Requirements  
  
A/N: I put some Sirius into this one. Man, he's one of my favorite characters *sirens go off: 5 book spoiler dee dum dee dum* I refuse to believe he is dead. I'll accept it when the seventh book is published and there is no Sirius. But not before! *pouts*  
  
She crept back into the empty room. How the heck would she be able to leave it without anyone realizing she left? Well, the old pillow shaped like a body trick would be a start. She went to her bed and discovered a nice long pillow. Great. What if one of them realizes that her long pillow was missing. What the hell would she say to explain herself, especially since she had no reason to be sneaking around?  
  
She sighed. Then she took the smaller pillow and tossed it to the side of the bed as she put the long pillow under the blankets. She just hoped no one would look under the blankets. Then it hit her like a sack of flour. There were curtains. The beds had draperies, which could enclose the entire bed. Well, three-fourths as the head of the bed was adjacent to the wall.  
  
God, how could she have been so stupid! She muttered angrily to herself as she closed the curtain to her bed, praying none of her roommates would see her in her quest of secrecy. But she didn't need to worry.  
  
No one came in during her building of the pillow-Sarah or her closing of the curtains. She might be home free. Then she heard a creaking sound. She ducked behind the curtains. She was such a loser, she thought as she heard the door open across the hall.  
  
She clambered off of the bed and fixed it up. Then she went downstairs into the lounge. There was not a soul there. She laughed as a vision of a dust ball rolled across the empty space and an old West movie tune played itself.  
  
She heard a door open. She scrambled back out of the common room through the portrait. Perhaps she should try to stop laughing altogether? So far it hasn't gotten her anywhere. She had run out of the corridor and through a sliding door. On the other side she rested against the wall, panting. She wasn't tired but it was the whole idea of getting caught that made her breathing shallow.  
  
Now what floor was she on? She didn't have the slightest clue. She made her way down, determined to make it to the seventh floor that night. So she was going to get to the top through the only method she knew: the giant marble staircase by the Great Hall.  
  
She wandered aimlessly, or rather unknowingly, throughout the vast expanse of Hogwarts. She had no clue as to how to get to where she wanted to go. But at least she had a feel for the general direction. Sarah sighed and turned around the corridor of yet another corridor when she ran into someone.  
  
'Oh my God!' she cried as she stood. 'I am so sor-' Sarah looked around for whatever she had bumped into. She couldn't see anything. But then she saw a leg materialized as if a sheet had covered it and now revealed it for the world to see. The only problem was, there was no sheet. She nearly screamed.  
  
Then a head popped out of nowhere. It was the boy, the one who had introduced 'Moonmeister,' Sirius. She stared at him; her eyes wide open. He stood up and faced her. 'Shh,' he said. 'Look, you can't tell anyone. No one's to know about James' invisibility cloak and James isn't to know that I took it without permission.' He paused. 'You're that new transfer girl, aren't you?'  
  
Sarah nodded, eyeing him with a strange look.  
  
He sighed. 'What do I need to do to get you not to tell? Would a kiss do?'  
  
Sarah shook her head. 'Noth-' but then she thought about it. If the boy was giving her the chance to blackmail him, shouldn't she take the offer? She obviously didn't know where she was and she could be lost in this immense place. Maybe.yeah, that's what I'll do, she thought. 'You know what? I could use some help getting to the Great Hall. Also, would you be able to give directions.or, or a.a map! to get back to our Common Rooms with? And also, how many floors are in Hogwarts and how do you get to each floor?'  
  
Sirius stared at her dumbfounded. 'All that for keeping a secret?' he looked at her incredulously. 'Maybe you should just tell.'  
  
Sarah looked at him. 'Well, it is a rather big request, but you do have a big secret you want me to keep. Plus, you know your way around Hogwarts rather well. I would say you could do it blind, except you just ran into me. If you hadn't.but you did. So what do you say?'  
  
Sirius pondered for a few minutes before he sighed. 'It's a deal. But you must swear that you won't tell a soul!'  
  
Sarah laughed. 'Tell them what?'  
  
He looked at her and laughed. 'All right. Follow me.' He took a step and then paused. 'Oh, but it's after hours. We'll have to use the cloak.' He motioned for her to get under with him. She complied. And he led the way down to the Great Hall.  
  
When they had reached the inside he paused and they got out from under the cloak. Then he fumbled in his pocket. 'Here,' he said as he handed her the parchment. It was blank. 'I don't have the time to make you a map.' He stated. 'But I'll give you this one. But you can't tell James, Re-err, Moonmeister, Peter or anyone. Only those three know about the map, but they would be mad if they found out that I had given it away.' He looked at her pleadingly.  
  
'Alright,' she sighed. 'But you do realize that it is blank?'  
  
He smiled. 'That's the beauty of it. If you point your wand at it and say, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," a map of Hogwarts appears upon it. I must say that it is a very good map.' He was smiling devilishly now.  
  
Sarah frowned slightly. A wand? Great. What would she do if she could get a wand? Or better yet, be able to use the wand as well?  
  
Sirius must have noted the look of distraught playing across her face. 'That's right,' he muttered. 'Your wand was lost or something on the way over. Here,' he stated as he took away the parchment. 'Let me take care of that.' With that he activated the map.  
  
He handed it back to her saying, 'Ok now I must be off. Good luck with your mischief.' He winked and left her alone in the Great Hall.  
  
Sarah watched him leave. God, I hope he was just flirting with me and didn't mean anything by it. A pair of golden eyes flashed into her mind. She frowned. Well at least now I'll be able to make through Hogwarts with little to no help, she thought. She'd have to keep up appearances as if she didn't know where she was going for about a week or so. Hopefully it wouldn't be too difficult.  
  
Sarah went out the doors and began the descent up the marble staircase. She glanced down at the map. This was the Marauder's Map. She knew that. She also knew that the named dots represented people. There's Sirius, and hmm, the janitor. Well, he does have the invisibility cloak so better him than me, she thought. She then looked for 'Moonmeister,' smiling when her eyes landed upon the name of Remus Lupin, presumably sitting in front of the Gryffindor's Common Room fire.  
  
She then clambered up the stairs and headed in the direction of the seventh floor. She took a break upon arriving at the long sought for level. Now where on level 7 would it be? She looked at her map. There were no Rooms of Requirement on it. She frowned. But there was a gap a few feet in front of her. She looked across from the wall and noticed a picture of some dude getting the tar beaten out of him by a few trolls. Now why did that sound familiar?  
  
Sarah went to the wall. There's no door. How could she get into a room that didn't have a door? Maybe the door only opens for those with magical abilities? She began to panic, although rather calmly. Worst comes to worst, she would just go to the library or back to her room. No big deal.  
  
Then it hit her like a sack of flour. She was supposed to think of what she wanted or needed three times in front of this area. Then the door would appear. Of course, it may not because she had no magic. But she put her hope in the door and paced in front of the wall, thinking only of books she should have read by now.  
  
When she looked at the wall again, a door had appeared. She stared at the highly polished door seeming with happiness. She then turned the brass doorknob and stepped into the room. 


	8. Lost in You

C.8 Lost in You  
  
A/N: lycanthrope is a werewolf.Also, Lost in You happens to be the name of a Sugarcult song ^-^ It's good and I was thinking of it when I wrote this. I don't think it affected what I wrote, but you never know. Also, I finally added more Remus. Sarah will die when she reads this. O.o oddly enough, she's not reading it before I post it online. Hmm.  
  
She opened the door to find herself in a room with quite a few books. She sighed. She had been expecting a lot more. Then to her joy she saw everything she would need for making potions. All of the ingredients were there and nice cauldrons. She smiled. This could work out.  
  
She sat down, working with potions first. She'd pick another subject or two to read another night. Potions would be one of the few she wouldn't need a wand for. She opened the musty book in front of her and set to work.  
  
A few hours later, Sarah was surprised to find she remembered most of the potions she had gone through. She was almost done with the last potions book, actually. She smiled to herself. She could do potions. Well, maybe they'll let her stay for that reason. After all, Neville Longbottom messed up a lot. Well, then again, he did have magic abilities, unlike her. She sighed as she added the last ingredient, happy to find that it looked the same as in the book. Thank God for chemistry and cooking, she thought.  
  
After finishing the potions book, she began reading the only book on magical creatures. This stuff was just so fascinating. She decided that after this book she would go and sleep for the remainder of the night. She may seem dumb tomorrow, or maybe she could be really dumb, like unable to speak? It might work.  
  
She closed the book and placed it back upon the shelf, smiling to herself. This wouldn't be half bad; so long as no one realizes the charade she's playing. She made to leave, stopping at the doorway. She then looked longingly into the room before she closed the door. She sighed. She didn't want to leave that room. It was just too good. She would have to come back tomorrow night. In fact every night she could, if she wanted to be smart enough. She just hoped the charade wouldn't be unmasked before she could really meet Moonmeister.  
  
She headed down the corridor and down a flight of steps. She had neglected the map, in fact truly forgotten it, while studying in the Room of Requirements. After a few twists, turns and downhill spirals, Sarah had no clue as to where she was. She looked around. She had never been this way before.  
  
She frowned. Where the heck was she? She turned another corner. She was so stupid. She should've been paying more attention to where she was going. She knew she didn't know her way around Hogwarts. Why didn't she try and get a map of Hogwarts from the Room of Requirements. Speaking of maps, she thought as she pulled out the Marauder's Map. Thank God she still had it. She was about to look at it when she noticed a person coming toward her. She remembered her promise and stuck the map into her pocket.  
  
Great. Just great! She muttered to herself. She looked around her, studying where she was. Maybe one of these could be a sliding door. Ha. Fat chance. Then she turned to look at the approaching figure to find herself staring into the same pair of gorgeous golden eyes. Do all werewolves have golden eyes? She almost muttered it out loud. But instead she stated, 'I'm lost.'  
  
He blinked at her. 'You're lost? You do realize that it is four in the morning?'  
  
She looked at him. 'Wait, wait, did you just say, "four in the morning?"'  
  
He nodded. 'Yes. Don't tell me you've been roaming the halls since six. If Lily left you in the Great Hall just to be with Pr-James, Dumbledore will be really mad at her.'  
  
'No,' she said quickly. She didn't want to get Lily in trouble, after all that she had done for her. 'She showed me to the Common Room and gave me the password, which I do remember,' she smiled. 'But I left to explore and it doesn't help if I do remember the password 'cause I don't know how to get to the fat lady portrait to use it!'  
  
'Wait,' she added. 'Do you think that I could've asked one of these portraits to show me the way?'  
  
He shook his head. 'They wouldn't have been able to get you far. They don't go all the way through. You'd miss them at a turn and that would be it. They'd think you changed your mind and grow furious at you. They never buy the story that you lost them.'  
  
She smiled at him. God, he so nice. It would suck if I had to go home. Not only is this place interesting, it's teeming with cute guys. She sighed inwardly. She was in love with his character in the books, but happy he was so cute in real life. She lost her smile. What if she woke up to find this was all some dream?  
  
'Look, I'll take you back to the Common Room. My shift's ending anyways. Plus, this way, you'll get some sleep. No need for you to be dead tired tomorrow. Although it would be funny if you wandered the halls all night.' He laughed.  
  
She liked his laugh. It was deep, but not too deep. It was carefree. 'I don't think it'll matter whether I get sleep or not. I've slept that much.' She joined in on the laugh. It's too early, she thought. I want to go to sleep, but I'd like to stay awake the rest of the night with him. Really, if she wanted to befriend him so bad, why didn't she become friends with all of the marauders? Well, except Peter. She could never like that backstabbing bastard. She frowned.  
  
'I bet starting a new school in another country is hard,' stated Remus, misinterpreting the frown.  
  
She was confused. 'Wha-oh. Yeah. It's a bit tough, but it's not too bad. People don't know what stupid things you might have done or who you were. You could lie and they really wouldn't know.' She looked at him as she said that.  
  
He puzzled over it for a few seconds. 'Do you have secrets you're trying to hide,' he asked jokingly.  
  
She smiled. 'Oh but who doesn't?'  
  
'You have no idea,' he muttered under his breath.  
  
Sarah realized she wasn't supposed to have heard that. Plus, she didn't need to inquire about it. She knew Remus was a werewolf. She frankly thought it was cool. He obviously was not thrilled about it.  
  
They walked a bit in silence. Both were thinking about werewolves. Sarah was wondering what it must be like for him; Remus was praying that someone would find a cure for lycanthropy. He didn't want to be a werewolf anymore.  
  
After a few seconds she pointed out a painting. 'Oh, wow. I like that. You know, how they put the person in mid-transformation. Being an animagus looks like fun.'  
  
He smiled, remembering all of the fun James, Peter, and Sirius gave him after becoming animagi. 'Yeah. It does look like fun.' He wouldn't know what it was like to be an animagus. He was a werewolf and stricken to one form at a time. He couldn't change back and forth as he pleased. He shouldn't be bitter though. It could be worse. What if his friends didn't care enough to risk their necks for him like that? What if they spread his secret around school?  
  
Sarah looked at him. It upset him, didn't it? Hmm. 'By the way, why are you out of the Common Room,' she diverted his attention from the prior subject.  
  
'Hmm? Oh, I'm a prefect and this my night of patrol duty. It can be rather boring. There really isn't much to do and most of the time the students are smart enough to not get caught. Well, those that aren't lost,' he winked at her, as if she really wasn't lost.  
  
'Excuse me for getting lost,' she faked an attitude. 'Like it's my fault I left the Common Room when I didn't know my way around?'  
  
'Why did you leave?'  
  
'Oh, because, uh, no one really was in the Common Room and I was, err, bored.'  
  
'Yeah, right. Sure. Whatever,' he stated.  
  
'Uh! You don't believe me! I can't believe you don't believe me when I'm telling you the truth,' she sighed, shaking her head wistfully. 'Misunderstood. That's all I am.'  
  
They both broke out into a chorus of laughter. It was as if they had known each other for years. Well, Sarah thought, she did know him for years. He just didn't know about it.  
  
It was nice, walking back with him. She smiled wider. They could have fun. This could work out. But all too soon the walk ended. They were standing in front of the Fat Lady and he had said the password. And she knew it too! She sighed, flaming lizards. Boy did she have it bad.  
  
He followed her inside of the Common Room. They said good night and they both went to their respective dormitories. 


	9. Secrets Revealed

C.9 Secrets Revealed  
  
(A/N: Special thanks to Twin Kats who helped me decide what this next chapter would be about. Also, I think these chapters are getting longer O.o)  
  
Sarah went to bed that night happy. Happy? Ecstatic. She now knew how Filch could have gotten his hands on the Marauder's Map. Sirius gave it to her and she would pass it on, and that person would pass it on and so on and so forth, at least until Filch confiscated it. J. K. explained the rest of it. She smiled. She'd have to tell Katy about all of this one day. She'd understand, even if this were all a dream. But what really pushed her into being ecstatic was talking with Remus. She wasn't lovesick. She was merely hero-worshipping him. He probably wouldn't like it, but she couldn't help it. She'd probably go on to hero-worship all of the other characters too.  
  
With such thoughts, her head hit the pillow and Mr. Sandman claimed another victim. She woke up the next morning and headed to the Great Hall with Lily. Lily looked perplexed, like she was caught between a tractor and a wall.  
  
'What's wrong?' Sarah had to ask.  
  
She shook her head. 'It's nothing.well, nothing important, really.well, except for.nothing. It's nothing, really.' She attempted to smile.  
  
'Puh-lease.' Sarah stated. 'If it wasn't so important than why is it bugging you?'  
  
'I can be bugged by things unimportant,' Lily replied indifferently.  
  
'No, 'cause then it would be important to you,' Sarah replied matter- of-factly.  
  
'You're not going to give this up until I spill, are you?' Lily warily eyed Sarah, who in turn shook her head. 'Alright,' she sighed. 'I want to sit with James, but I don't want to abandoned you.'  
  
Sarah laughed. 'Well, that's simple then. I'll sit with you and you'll sit with James. That way you can't feel guilty and you don't rile your boyfriend,' she winked. 'Plus I'm sure there are some people I can talk to around you guys.'  
  
Lily looked thrilled and uncertain. But James, as well as the other Marauders, came up behind them. James smiled at Lily and began to walk beside her. Sarah began to feel claustrophobic between the lovebirds and opted to walk between the very handsome Sirius and the golden-eyed werewolf, Remus.  
  
'So, how'd you sleep last night?' Sirius prodded. He knew about the run-in with Remus. Remus didn't know how to keep things secret from Sirius. No one did, really.  
  
She laughed. 'Very well. I might ask you the same.'  
  
'As well as the next night owl,' he stated with a wink.  
  
Remus shook his head. 'He fell asleep at ten last night. So much for night owl, huh?' he told Sarah.  
  
Sarah laughed, saying knowingly to Remus, 'Ten's rather late for a night owl.' She looked innocently at Sirius. All three broke into a smile.  
  
Behind the three a small boy joined in on the secret. He had no clue as to why his friends were being all chummy with that girl. And they seemed to share some sort of inside joke. He smiled at it and laughed at it with them, but he didn't know what it was. He found himself not liking the new American exchange student. She was able to become such close friends with them already while he had been more like stalking them for the last seven years.  
  
Sure they accepted his presence and even called him their friend. But she was already there. It had taken a whole year of hero-worshipping for him to even get them to accept him. It riled him that they would accept her so easily. He mentally glared at the brunette's back.  
  
Meanwhile, James and Lily smiled at each other and listened to the conversation directly behind them. Lily was happy that they could get along, but confused. Maybe they met in the Common Room last night when she went to meet James. She just couldn't believe that they had become friends so fast. James was just as clueless as she was. They looked at each other, wondering where the secret jokes came from.  
  
No one paid any more attention to it as they made their way to the Great Hall, the scents from the food wafting the air around them. They sat down. Lily sat between James and Sarah on one side of the table. Peter, Sirius and Remus sat on the other. Sometimes, they would bring up the topic of American witches, and, once in a while, wizards. She always managed to change the subject without answering their questions.  
  
They would also travel together to their classes, splitting up every once and a while when the classes differed. Then, at the end of each day, Sarah would disappear and head to the Room of Requirements. They realized she disappeared, but they never found out where. Only Sirius knew where the map now was.  
  
Sure, Sarah was quickly learning what she needed to, but that wouldn't make up for the fact that she still couldn't do magic. It was the seventh night that she had been going to the Room of Requirements and so far she had only one more subject to learn. She found it surprising that she was learning all of the other subjects so fast. Now came Transfiguration. But this night, as she headed towards the Room of Requirements, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched. Better yet, she was being followed.  
  
So when Sarah entered the door that day, she was shocked to find it open soon after she had closed it. She put down the bag Lily had lent her for her stuff, or basically the stuff people lent to her until she could get her own. She turned around and gasped. There, sitting on an armchair, was Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.  
  
'What are you doing here?' she asked him, regaining her composure.  
  
'I'd like to ask you the same thing.' Sirius replied.  
  
She shook her head, 'what does it look like?'  
  
Remus looked around the room. 'It looks like you're studying. But for what...' he then picked up a book, Transfiguration for Beginners. He looked at it, confused. 'What's this?'  
  
Sarah blushed. What the hell was she supposed to say? 'I'm not a witch.' She threw her hands over her mouth. She said it out loud!  
  
Sirius was confused; he sat up in the armchair. Remus seemed to understand. 'That's why you always changed the subject when we'd ask about American magic. You know nothing about it. I would say you lied to us, but you never did lie, per se. You just hid the truth.' He shook his head.  
  
'Wait.you're not a witch?' Then it dawned upon Sirius as well and he began to laugh. 'That's bloody good. You had everyone fooled. You do realize you can't make yourself have magic, right?'  
  
'Yeah. I was just studying in hopes that if I answer the questions right that they might still believe that I can do magic. Besides, Professor Mackeney thinks I'm good at Potions. So I got a subject, right? Besides, if I stay away from wands when I go school supplies shopping this weekend, then it'll be ok, right?'  
  
Sirius frowned, weighing the possibilities. 'It might work,' he said looking up at Remus.  
  
'It's possible,' Remus stated. Then he looked at Sarah. 'How are you planning on spending an entire year away from a wand?'  
  
She shrugged. 'Maybe getting sick, or pulling some fast ones on the teachers I guess.'  
  
Sirius' eyes lit up. 'Pulling some fast ones, eh? I think we should help, what do you say Moony?'  
  
Remus stiffened at the sound of that name. 'I don't see why not,' he added, smiling at Sarah and regaining his composure.  
  
Sirius looked at Sarah. 'Moony's just another name I give him; you know, short for Moonmeister.' He shrugged. Sarah just nodded, smiling. Remus relaxed.  
  
'We shouldn't tell James; he wouldn't care. Ignorance is bliss anyways,' Remus replied.  
  
Sirius made a face. 'James would be upset if he finds out.' After looking at the look Remus gave, he added, 'He doesn't need to know. Besides, it's not like he'll care with Lily always on his mind. And Peter, we aren't going to tell him either. He'd just whine when we told him we snuck out without him.'  
  
'Besides,' Remus added, 'both not knowing will soften the blow.'  
  
'If they find out,' Sirius put in. 'Why shouldn't we tell?' He joked at Sarah.  
  
Sarah smiled. 'Because I know something you don't want others to know.' In truth she really did. But she wasn't sure she wanted them to know she knew about the full moon escapades.  
  
Remus blanched; Sirius kept his composure. 'And what might that be?'  
  
'Oh, you know, the regular kind of dirt you get on people. That kind they don't like to get spread around.' She wasn't going to let them know what kind of dirt she had on them. Like she'd squeal on them anyways!  
  
They decided that they'd take the silent answer, praying she didn't know about the werewolf thing. 'Transfiguration, huh?' Remus decided it was best to change the subject before any accusations were made.  
  
'Why, I'd say that's our best subject, Mr. Moony,' Sirius replied innocently.  
  
The ice had cracked and they goofed off again, helping Sarah to learn all she needed to for Transfiguration.  
  
She sighed when they were done. 'That's it! No more studying at the dead of night in a strange room for me!'  
  
As they exited the room, Remus asked, 'How did you know about this place?'  
  
Sarah just stared at him, trying to think up something to say. After all, she did promise not to tell about the map.  
  
Sirius saved her from breaking the promise. 'I gave her the map,' he stated matter-of-factly. 'We ran into each other during one of my nightly escapades.' He then told Remus what had happened that night. 'But you knew about this before,' he turned towards Sarah frowning. 'How did you know of this before?'  
  
'I read it in a book,' she stated. A fictional book, but still a book.  
  
'Which one?' Remus was curious.  
  
She shrugged. 'Not sure,' she said. If I want to tell you, she mentally added.  
  
They shrugged and accepted it. After all, Lily could have brought her to the Library and she could have read one of the many books on Hogwarts. They joked the remainder of the way to the Common Rooms, forming plans of what to do to hide Sarah's muggle tendencies and using the map to skirt any unwanted visitors. 


	10. Shopping With GASP!

C.10 Shopping With GASP!  
  
Sarah woke up early that morning. Thank God Lily was ever so nice and let her clothes. So was Jasmine. But now she was going to finally get clothes of her own. No more borrowing! Of course this also meant getting the school supplies as well. She wouldn't be able to get out of it. No way.  
  
Sarah rolled out of bed. Lily left some clothes on the chest. She was running late. Great, just fucking great! She mentally kicked herself. This was not going well. She quickly dressed and ran down the stairs to the Common Room. Sure she didn't want to get the wand and show her true colors! Of course it would only be the best if McGonagall grew furious and refused to take her. McGonagall...that's right. She was going to take Sarah shopping.  
  
Sarah shook her head. There's no use in delaying the inevitable, she thought as she raced out of the Common Room and through the halls. It was amazing what she had learned since she came a week ago. Not really, considering her midnight rendezvous and the Marauder's Map, it wasn't shocking at all. And then she reached the giant oak doors. She walked in and headed towards the Gryffindor table. She glanced towards the teachers' table at the front of the room. Good. She's still eating. She can't be mad then. She sat down in her now usual spot: between Sirius and Remus.  
  
'You know, you're a delightful shade of red,' Sirius slurred out, as if he was drunk.  
  
Sarah sighed. 'I just came running down here. Today's the day I go shopping with McGonagall.'  
  
'Oh, really,' Sirius dropped his drunken slur. 'You're going shopping with McGonagall?'  
  
Remus sprayed his drink all over Peter (A/N: You'll see evil things accidentally done to Peter because I dislike him).  
  
'UGHH!' Peter groaned. 'Now I've got orange juice all over me! Thanks a lot, Remus!'  
  
Remus apologized to the sulking Peter. 'Now I have to change my robes,' Peter grumbled.  
  
They stared as Peter walked away. Then Remus turned to Sarah and said, 'What!?'  
  
Sarah shook her head. 'I have to go shopping for clothes and school supplies.'  
  
Remus and Sirius both whispered, 'wand?'  
  
Sarah sighed, 'yes.'  
  
They exchanged glances. Lily looked over at her friend. 'Oh that's good. You can start practicing then. I can help you catch up?'  
  
Remus interrupted her. 'I think Sirius and I will handle that. Right, Sirius?'  
  
'Of course!' he chirped.  
  
Sarah, in the meantime, had been shuffling down food. 'Bleh. Hopefully I didn't eat too fast and won't throw this up on the shopping "adventure!" '  
  
Remus, Sirius and James cracked up. 'Oh man, McGonagall...covered in puke. I'd pay...to see...that. Could you...bring...along my...camera?' James laughed as he said that.  
  
Lily hit him playfully. 'That's not very nice Mr. James Potter.'  
  
Unfortunately, James could not flirt back or even kiss Lily as McGonagall's looming shadow hovered over him. 'It is time, Ms. Gregory.'  
  
As Sarah was about to stand up to leave, Sirius whispered in her ear, 'Watch it! She sounds as if she's taking you to your death.'  
  
She smiled and whispered back, 'It may very well be.'  
  
She then stood up and followed McGonagall out to great oak doors. She frowned. 'Unfortunately, Hogsmeade does not have all of the, err, essential supplies. We will be traveling by floo powder to a place called Diagon Alley. It's imperative that you get the name right for saying it wrong could find yourself someplace you don't want to be...or worse.'  
  
'Diagon Alley,' Sarah said perfectly. Man, I've been watching that Harry Potter movie way too much. Can't wait for the third one to come out!  
  
McGonagall just stared at her. 'So you've heard of this place before,' she asked, eyebrow raised.  
  
'You could say that,' Sarah responded. Then she found that they were in a room that contained a rather large fireplace. McGonagall stuck a pot of floo powder before her. She took a bit of floo powder and walked towards the fireplace. Once inside, she threw down the floo powder and said, 'Diagon Ally,' as a swarm of flame overtook her.  
  
Sarah found herself in a pub. She looked around. Wow. Before she could get a look around, McGonagall came gracefully from the fireplace. She's like a cat. DOH! She is a cat, at least animagus-wise.  
  
'Come.' It was all that McGonagall said. Sarah chased after her to find that she was facing a brick wall. Three up...two across...Sarah almost muttered out loud. She smiled. Man, she pottered too much in her days.  
  
They walked in and began the shopping spree. First, McGonagall took Sarah to the robes store. Sarah spent as much time as she could in there. Maybe if she wasted enough time then she would be able to put off getting a wand. She didn't waste enough time. They were leaving the robes store.  
  
To Sarah's delight they stopped and made orders for all of her other school supplies before going after the wand. Unfortunately, they just placed the orders. Sarah decided she'd have to be a bitch and tried window- shopping...excessive window-shopping. All that ended up was Sarah shopping with a pissed-off McGonagall. Oh well, better pissed off than pissed on. She thought glumly as they headed towards Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. Wonder why that sounds familiar? Sarah smiled to herself.  
  
Her stomach growled. It's probably been hours since she had last eaten. Great. She knew that the wand thing was inevitable, but man, why couldn't it be put off? She wanted to procrastinate getting her memory blanked and sent home. Great, just fucking great!  
  
They entered the shop. She heard the sound of a faint bell as McGonagall sat in the only chair. Then a man with silver lamps (A/N: lamps meaning eyes, pplz! ^-^) approached. 'Good Afternoon, Professor McGonagall. Mahogany, dragon heartstring, 8 ½ inches. Good for Transfiguration.' McGonagall blinked.  
  
He looked at Sarah. 'Good Afternoon. You must be Sarah Gregory. For your first Ollivanders wand, I see.'  
  
He then produced a tape measurer from seemingly nowhere. He is a wizard after all; Sarah scolded her shock. After standing for a few minutes and feeling the idiot, Sarah noticed him staring at the markings on the measuring tape. Oh great, here it comes. She couldn't help but feel sick. 'Interesting...' Ollivander trailed off. Then he abruptly turned to McGonagall. 'It seems that we cannot supply her a wand. The wand that the measuring tape calls for is...rare. It will take about a week to come in. I will send it to Hogwarts as soon as I can.'  
  
And that was it. Sarah had a week. She still had another week. Maybe muggles come up on the tape and they get rare wands? And when the wands don't work, they are now discovered? She didn't know. She was so happy. One more week. Hmm. This had better be a good one. She'd go down in style.  
  
Looony Moony: well, I always thought that they called each other by their marauders' names. But I don't have him called Moony, 'cause I like the Moonmeister. Besides, Sarah knows his name is Remus; she happens to be an hp fan! She might use it or hear later on; I just move too slowly. *Sigh* we'll see, we'll see. 


	11. Halloween Happenings

C.11 Halloween Happenings *Sigh* this chapter's not very-Remus-y. But Remus is under the weather...that's my excuse and I am going to stick to it. Anyways, I hope you like it and don't expect a bunch of chapters up soon...I'll try one a week, but I'm becoming busier and busier. Also thanks to all my reviewers! Reviews make me happy...surprisingly, even negative ones. o.o Anyways, here y'all (haha I used y'all, how southern of me -.~ ) go:  
  
Sarah woke up. Today is Halloween, she smiled. Halloween was great. Free candy, costumes, and jack-o-lanterns! What could be better than Halloween? She rolled out of bed and sighed. At least she didn't have to borrow any more clothes. She went through her own trunk and picked out that day's clothing. She was going to wear black and dress as a witch. Of course man of the other students would think of her costume as her expressing her disinterest in Halloween, unless they didn't dress up for Halloween at this school.  
She shrugged. What did it matter? She was going dressed up as a witch. She got dressed and headed down into the Common Room. Nobody was dressed up. Wow. Must be a muggle thing, she thought.  
'Dressing up for the holiday?' Sirius asked innocently. 'Lemme guess: the wicked witch of the east!'  
'No, she's obviously Glinda.' Remus smiled. His smile looked rather weaker than usual, but Sarah smiled anyways.  
'Glinda?' James asked. 'Who's that?'  
'Wizard of Oz,' Sirius waved his hand dismissively. 'You know, the good witch of the North or something like that. Not quite as famous as the Wicked Witch of the West though.' Sirius then turned and smiled at Sarah. He then impersonated the famous scene: 'Help! I'm melting, melting. Oh what a world.' He was writhing on the ground. The room erupted in fits of laughter. After all, it's not everyday that Sirius disgraces himself by rolling on the ground with the dogs, so to speak.  
They headed down to the Common Room, Peter asking 'Why did you bring up, the umm, Witch of Orz?'  
'Wizard of Oz,' Sirius corrected. Then he shrugged. 'It's an inside joke.' He then caught up to James and Lily to make some snide comment. It was only as a joke and they knew that. He never meant anything mean he said to his friends. After all, who would help him pick on Snivellus, if not James? Remus was too nice and Peter, well he was a chicken-shit. (A/N: Ehh...I really don't like that word...)  
Walking into The Great Hall took Sarah's breath away. Instead of the floating candles she had finally gotten used to, there was jack-o'-lanterns everywhere, some floating, taking the place of the lighted candles and others decorated the tabletops.  
'Hey, it's not polite to stare, you know,' Sirius whispered in her ear.  
She looked at him. She wasn't going to say anything. She was staring after all. Her mouth was open and everything! Great. Just great. She looked and saw Remus. He sure wasn't looking too great. Maybe he was catching a cold?  
She sat down between Remus and Sirius. Immediately, she turned to Remus. 'Are you alright?' she couldn't hide the worry from her voice. Sure, he normally looked frail and, well, patched, but he was a werewolf after all. A werewolf...  
'I'm fine,' he sounded horribly unconvincing. That's what's wrong then. Must be near a full moon.  
Then owls swooped down and dropped a bunch of presents in front of Remus. 'Ow!' Sarah cried out when a rather large one nearly took her out. Remus frowned.  
'Did you forget what time of the month it is?' Sirius asked Remus. 'It's October is your only hint.'  
'I know,' Remus hissed. 'It's my damn birthday. Happy Birthday to me!' Remus sounded anything but pleased.  
'Happy Birthday Remus!' Sarah smiled broadly. Remus responded with a smile of his own. But his head was pounding. What a day to get sick, he thought to himself.  
Sarah sat there, what could she get him for his birthday? She frowned. That's when she remembered Hogsmeade. She would be bound to find something and Dumbledore had given her a few galleons as she was flat broke and had no one to send her anything. Maybe he knows the truth.  
She finished eating and excused herself. Then she racked her memory of the many ways into Hogsmeade, including a certain witch hump that she had passed once. And now that she had the map she would have no trouble finding it.  
She took the map out of her pocket. Sure she should wipe it off or something but that would mean not getting it back up. She couldn't afford to loose the map aspect. So she was lost in thought of gifts and maps when she arrived at the one-eyed crone. 'Dissendium?' she muttered uncertainly. Wasn't that a magic word? Maybe she should try that mirror on the fourth floor.  
Well, much to Sarah's luck, the old spinster's hump opened. God was she lucky or what? She crept into the hump and walked forward. Then to her dismay, the hump closed, incasing her in sheer darkness. 'Shit. So much for luck.' She put her hand on the wall and trailed forward, praying not to get lost or worse...  
It seemed forever before she began to ascend. Good. For once, good. But then an expected cliff was in front of her, that's what it had to be. She tripped and her knees landed on it. 'Ah God, Fucking shit of a tunnel. Why the hell didn't I remember the mirror one before this one?' Because Harry used this one, her mind told her. But that didn't make it better.  
She sighed and struggled for her feet. Time to crawl. These had to be stairs. She crawled until *bump* she hit her head on something. This had best be that damn trapdoor, she thought bitterly. And, lucky for her, it was. She foolishly opened the door as soon as she found how to. Then she blinked in frustration as light streamed into her eyes, but only a bit, thank the Lord.  
Lucky for her, no one was in the room. She crawled out of the secret entrance and hid it. She was going back the long way and she didn't care who saw. She snuck out of the basement and into Honeydukes, where she proceeded to sneak out again.  
Where to go? She had no earthly clue...or magical for that matter. She stopped at a window. No way in the world...she thought. No way on God's green earth. She turned and looked into the window. Inside the porcelain shop was a deer, a wolf, a dog, and a mouse. There were other animals in the assortment, but that was perfect. A black dog, an elegant stag, a small rat, and the wolf. They were what she was looking for. Of course she couldn't tell him that she got it for him. It would have to be the clichéd secret admirer type thing. Well, he would think one of the guys sent it to him at least.  
She went in and asked to see the figurines. They moved together which was all the more better. She looked at the sales lady, 'How much?'  
'Oh well I think I can manage at selling them for 4 galleons.'  
Sarah took out the money and counted out four of the gold coins. She handed them to the lady, who then froze the four figurines and wrapped them. 'Would you like a box?' she asked. Sarah nodded.  
Taking the box she left the store and headed back to Hogwarts, the long way. No one saw, or, if they did, they kept it to themselves. She then hid the gift as she walked into the castle. She would hide it in his room when she knew he wasn't looking.  
  
^-^; Eh...a bit on the short side. I'll be making yet another chapter as soon as can in Remus point-of-view for the whole gift-getting thing. But then I'll probably switch back to Sarah mode and hopefully kick it up a notch. 


	12. What A Wonderful Birthday!

C.12 What a Wonderful Birthday!  
  
A/N: Well, it's starting out in Sarah's point-of-view, but I'll have to flip it to Remus' soon.  
  
It was suppertime when she came back and Sarah was all filled with jitters. She hoped he would like it...but what if he were incredibly flipped out about it? After all, once he found it was none of his friends, he would know someone else knew his secret. Maybe she shouldn't give it to him at all?  
  
She had missed lunch and her stomach was growling. But first, she would have to hide the gift. If she's going to give it to him, now would be the best time...and if she wasn't, then now would be the best time to hide it. Once she gave it, she couldn't give it back. She found herself in front of the Fat Lady. She took a deep breath and opened the door.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Remus sat there eating his food. Or rather he was playing with his food. He hadn't eaten a bite since lunch. And then he ate only a few meager bites under the watchful eyes of Sirius. He always had a way of getting exactly what he wanted from people. Remus frowned. Where was she?  
  
They had checked everywhere. Sirius and him. They searched for Sarah. Sirius was worried and he was too. But she wasn't anywhere. She wasn't even in the Room of Requirements. That was where they usually found her, studying so she could pretend to know it all and had learned it at her last school. He shook his head.  
  
He felt something on his elbow. He looked at his arm and saw a hand. Knitting brows in confusion he traced the hand to its owner, Sirius.  
  
'Come on,' Sirius whispered. They just got up. Peter was paying attention to his food; he'd notice when he had finish that steak he was working on. They could count on that. Lily and James would notice too, but by that time, Peter would have gone off looking for them and they would think it was for their 'quality time'. So they could escape and escape from their friends they did.  
  
When they left the Great Hall, Sirius started the conversation. 'Look, Remus, don't worry about Sarah. She can take care of herself.'  
  
'She can't do magic, Sirius. She's at a disadvantage to everyone in the school! For all we know, she could be lying unconscious somewhere! Wait...where's the map?'  
  
'I...uh...well, you see...I gave it to Sarah.' He looked away from Remus.  
  
'It's ok, Sirius,' Remus put his hand on his shoulder. 'But can I ask why?'  
  
'You deserve to know why,' Sirius answered. 'First off, she was lost. I think it was the first day she was awake and walking, you know?' Remus nodded his head. He did know. That was day he first saw her. 'Well, at Lunch that day I saw her and she looked so sad. So I, uh, well, I kind of used the map that night and followed her. I kind of made her promise—' Sirius appeared to be nervous. He was twisting his hands. Remus frowned. When had Sirius ever been nervous? '—Well, I made her promise that she wouldn't tell about James' invisibility coat. And then I made her promise not to tell about my sneaking around.' He looked at Remus. Was he really nervous? 'She had an excuse, you see? So my plan didn't go as planned. Instead, well, I gave her the Map. She promised not to tell and all. It's ok, isn't it?'  
  
Remus was shocked. All throughout his school career, Sirius had always been the cool one. He was always so suave. And now he was nervous? He attempted a smile. 'Why so nervous, Padfoot? You know we wouldn't mind so long as it's put to good use.'  
  
'I was hoping you'd say that. You're always so nice and easygoing,' Sirius replied. 'I'm not nervous about that.' Sirius looked away. 'I don't know why. I just am,' He seemed to tell the window. He looked back at Remus, 'I think I like her. And it's different from all of those other girls. I don't know.' He looked away again.  
  
Remus was shocked. He could almost swear that his mouth was hanging open. 'Y-You like her, Sarah?'  
  
'Yeah, I think so.'  
  
'That's, um, that's great, Sirius.' Why was it so hard to fake happiness? His throat felt like cotton balls. He couldn't like Sarah. No, why'd he even think that just know? All the other girls he liked he acted like a fool around. He'd stutter and blush and they'd giggle at his awkwardness. No, he was calm around Sarah. So why wasn't he jumping up and down for Sirius?  
  
It's probably just because Sirius is never nervous about girls like this. He reassured himself. Yet that didn't stop the pit forming in the bottom of his stomach.  
  
He forced himself back to normalcy. Sirius' strange behavior would NOT change his. 'Come on, maybe she's in the Room of Requirement.' They began the descent to the seventh floor.  
  
After walking back and forth in front of that...oh, that ugly portrait, the door appeared. Remus just stared at. He wanted to find Sarah, sure. But at the same time he would be so uncomfortable around them, now that he knew Sirius liked her and all. Sirius and Sarah would go out and poor Remus would be left with Peter, again. Not that he didn't like Peter or anything, but Peter was a wuss. Oh sure, Remus looked weak and all, but he was a werewolf! He was no pansy, not like Peter. He was amazed that boy even made it into the Gryffindor House.  
  
He sighed inwardly. He was being too harsh. He was just upset that he would never get a girl, not with his condition, at least. He would have to tell them before they got close. And when she would find out...he shook his head. No, he wouldn't think of that. But the thoughts came anyway. The girl going screaming from his presence. Sarah would be no different. Well, she'd still be his friend...but why was he thinking of this anyways?  
  
He watched Sirius turn the handle with slightly glazed eyes. Please don't be in there, he prayed. And the door was opened. Revealing nothing but pictures of Sarah as they had thought of her as they passed the portrait. Remus felt relief. He shouldn't, he knew that, but he still felt it.  
  
'Let's go to the Common Room, mate,' he told Sirius. Sirius absently nodded and they headed downstairs to the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
A/N: Umm...well, that didn't go as far as I had hoped so there shall be yet another chapter forth coming. I hope I didn't do a too bad job ^-^; Anyways, let me know what you think...and hopefully I can write another chapter soon. Thanks to any and all who read this. Snow White: Yes, Remus is a cutie but so is Sirius. And thank you. ^-^ 


	13. Birthday Surprises

C.13 Birthday Surprises (Remus's b-day)  
  
(A/N: Sorry so much to the readers of this story!! I know...bad Katy. Not updating in forever!! But I've been swamped with school and sports (yes I am doing more than one). *Sigh* anyways, I've done yet another chapter and posted it too. Of course, all I have to add is that the next one prolly won't come until after AP exams in early May (5 and 7 or 8). Then I shall have more time for you guys. And thanks to all of my reviewers!!)  
  
Sarah left the Common Room and headed down towards the fruit picture, entrance of the kitchens. Using the map as a guide, Sarah found the picture, just as it was in the books. She tickled the pear. And then, lo and behold, the door opened. She stepped inside of the kitchen to be greeted by a house elf.  
'How may I serve miss?' It asked her.  
'Uhm,' she glanced around. She was hungry, but what did she want? 'How about spaghetti? But hold the meat, please.'  
The house elf went away as quickly as it had come to prepare a meal for one of its many masters. Sarah watched it go off and soon grew bored. She then proceeded to watch the other house elves, making lives for each one of them. The one with the Idaho potato sack on his back was madly in love with the elf wearing what appeared to be an old blanket draped around her frame. Of course, Sarah was making up the genders here. She really couldn't tell which were male and which were female. But it was fun. She even thought of giving them names. But then she figured they already had names.  
'Hi. My name is Karen. You are Sarah, the new transfer student. Where is it you come from anyways?' The voice that seemed to come out of nowhere startled Sarah from her reverie. She looked up to see a young blonde about her age standing in front of her.  
'I...uhm...I come from the States,' Sarah replied. 'Virginia to be precise.'  
'Oh really!? I've always wanted to visit other countries before. What's it like there?'  
'Nothing too exciting. Just normal stuff.' Sarah replied with a shrug.  
Karen put down the stuff in her hands on the table and sat down next to Sarah.  
'What's all of that?' she asked Karen.  
Karen blushed as she replied her artwork.  
'Can I see it?'  
'Oh, why sure!'  
Sarah opened the notebook and looked at the drawings. They were mostly done in manga form, although some drawings were realistic. She flipped through and recognized the pictures of Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall, and other people amongst the Hogwarts staff. 'These are really good.'  
'Your food, miss,' the house elf placed the food in front of Sarah and then turned to Karen. 'And what might I get for you, other miss?'  
'Uhm...I'd really like a hot chocolate, if you please.'  
'But of course, miss.' The house elf left with a bow and returned a few minutes later with the hot chocolate.  
'You know, I really like these pictures of yours.' Sarah looked up and at Karen.  
'Really? You think they are good?'  
'Yeah!'  
Sarah and Karen then spent another half hour talking and getting to know each other. It turned out that Karen was a 6th year Gryffindor straight out of Derbyshire, England. Sarah didn't quite catch the exact whereabouts. Maybe Karen didn't give them. But the minutes clicked by and both Sarah and Karen had consumed the meals they had come for.  
'Hmm. I should be getting back to the Common Room,' Sarah stretched as she said this. Really, she wanted to see Remus before his birthday ended. She just wanted to spend some more time with him...it seemed like she spent all of her time with him yet it was never enough.  
'Yeah, you are right,' Karen began. 'I should be hitting the books soon if I don't want to spend ALL night doing my homework.' She then headed to the door and left, with Sarah following.  
They headed back to the Commons in sheer discussion. None of the topics seemed to have any significance. They were the type of conversations people have and remember having but never remember what is being said. But the point was that they were conversing and having a good time at it.  
At the entrance to the Commons they split up, Karen going to go do her homework and Sarah came in looking for Remus. How she wished time would disappear. ************************************************************************  
Remus sat there in the Common Room in all stillness. Sirius was furiously pacing in front of him, nerves all atwitter. He was constantly shaking his head and muttering, Remus understood that much. But he couldn't for the life of him, make out what was being said. The world seemed to be going in slow motion. Where was Sarah? And the pit forming at the bottom of his stomach was making this one of the worst birthdays he had ever had. He just sat there and drummed his fingers.  
The worst part of all of this was not that Sarah was missing that seriously bugged him. He couldn't stop thinking about how Sirius and Sarah would go out now and he'd be left alone. Yet again. He was always being forgotten. And if he said anything he would become a third wheel on Sirius' dates. That was never a cup of tea. Remus shook his head. What was he going to do? Why couldn't things stay the same way they were before?  
And then he shook his head yet again. They would never be the same. And he didn't want it to be. But he didn't want Sirius to go out with Sarah. After all, she is his friend too! And then he'd be without both of his friends! Sure they'd still do things together but then Remus would feel like he was intruding...he'd definitely feel like he was a third wheel. He didn't want that.  
Remus sighed. The door to the Commons opened and he looked up at it. Sirius stopped the pacing and looked up expectantly, no hopefully. Remus muttered inside of his head. Please don't let it be her. Please, oh please, don't be Sarah. And to Remus' utter shock it was not. The pit settled deeper into his stomach. Where was she?  
Sirius resumed his pacing. Remus looked at him. Why wouldn't Sarah go out with him? He was every girl's dream! Remus just shook his head for what had to be the gazillionth time that night. What in the world was his problem?  
The portrait door creaked yet again to symbolize yet another Gryffindor returning. Sirius and Remus both looked up expectantly. Much to their dismay, Prongs entered the room. Remus went back to his brooding and Sirius went back to his pacing.  
'What? I don't even get a 'hi' from my mates?' James questioned his gloomy pals. 'Why so sad? I thought my presence was instant happiness for all!' A humph echoed from the small hall from the entrance of the portrait.  
Lily was soon seen and shaking her head at James. 'You? All that? Don't make me laugh.' And it was obvious. She was clearly trying her best not to laugh at James.  
James feigned shock and upset. 'I don't have to take this. I'm going to my room!' And he "pouted" all the way to the door before opening it and slamming it behind him.  
Lily shook her head and then looked over at the two waiting. 'She hasn't returned yet? I'll go check my room. She might be in there.' And then Lily left as well.  
Remus frowned. They had removed his mind from what was ever haunting his thoughts and now they were gone. He just frowned. What was wrong with him? Why did he care so much about Sirius dating Sarah anyways? He'd eventually grow bored...no he wouldn't. Who could grow bored of Sarah? He knew he couldn't.  
The portrait creaked open yet again. This time a blonde stepped through. She looked at the two staring at the portrait way and then went on to her room. They wouldn't know her. They were probably just waiting for someone else. She shook her head and headed up the stairs. Sirius resumed his pacing.  
'What's with the pacing and long faces, you guys? I wasn't gone that long was I?' Sarah asked from the entranceway. Sirius looked up and tackled Sarah in a hug. She was all right. Thank Merlin she was fine. Remus just looked up and watched Sarah, filled in happiness. And then he watched Sirius hug her. The pit came back. He snatched a book off of the table and began to read.  
'Uhm, Sirius,' Sarah began, 'I can't breath. You might want to lighten up on the hug there, buddy.'  
Sirius let go and pretended interest in keeping his robes straight. 'Sorry 'bout that.'  
Sarah laughed, 'No problem!' And then she looked at Remus. Maybe he wasn't worried about her. After all, she may like him, but he doesn't have to like her back. She frowned. Wasn't he all upset just before?  
'She's not up here!' Lily called from the top of the stairs.  
'Who?' Sarah asked.  
'Oh, you finally came back! Thanks for telling me, guys!!' Then the sound of a door shutting came echoing into the Commons area. Remus looked up from his book and just blinked. Then he shook his head and looked back at the page. For some reason, he was finding himself unable to focus on the words and actually read them. It was an interesting book too. He had read once each year since coming here. How to Know If Your Room Mate is a Werewolf. And every single year it made him laugh at how vague and sometimes wrong this book was.  
'You've been reading the same page for five minutes now.' A voice sounded in Remus' ear and startled him from his thoughts. 'I don't even get a 'hey Sarah'?' She looked at him.  
'Oh, hi Sarah,' Remus said. Oh you idiot. Now she's going to think you don't care. He just turned a light shade of pink and looked back in his book.  
Sirius cleared his throat. 'Sarah might I have a word with you?'  
Remus looked up at him and then closed the book and headed to the stairs. Sirius' eyes pleaded with him to stay. He had told Remus that if he stayed he would provide Sirius with courage as he always did. And normally Remus was in the shadows when Sirius asked girls out. It always creeped him out but Sirius had always insisted. And the girls never noticed him either. They never do. But he couldn't watch Sirius ask out Sarah. It was just too much for him. So he walked up the stairs and said, 'good night Sarah and Sirius.' The sound of a shutting door was promptly heard, albeit not that of a slamming door. ************************************************************************  
Sirius just looked at Sarah and smiled. 'I was, uh, well, I was wondering, just wondering, if maybe you,' he swallowed. 'I was just wondering if you could let me borrow the map again.' He couldn't do it. Damn Remus. Why'd he leave him? He shook his head mentally.  
'Uhm, sure,' Sarah eyed him like he was mental. 'When do you need it?'  
'Well, now would be nice.'  
'No problem.' She took out the map and handed it to him. 'Well, I'm going to hit the hay. Good night Sirius.' Sarah then headed to the girls' dormitories and to her room in particular. Sirius just watched her go, blankly staring and holding onto the map. ************************************************************************  
Sarah entered her room and lay down on the bed. So much for spending some time with Remus on his birthday. And what was with Sirius? She had never seen him act that way before, not that Remus was behaving any more normal. She shook her head. Men, she mentally sighed. Maybe she could spend more time with Remus on her birthday. After all, it was only a week away.  
Maybe Sirius liked her; it is a possibility after all. A slim one, she argued with herself. But what if he did and asked her out? What then? He wasn't Remus but he wasn't bad either. Wasn't bad? Who was she kidding? Most girls would die if they found out that there was a chance that Sirius liked her. Maybe if he asked her out she should say yes. But that is IF he liked her. It was highly unlikely that he would. And with those thoughts she drifted into sleep. ************************************************************************  
Remus had lain down on his bed upon entrance. What in the world was his problem? He had stomached all of those other times, why not this one? Did it have to do with Sarah? Maybe he just couldn't stand to see Sirius ask Sarah out. Of course he couldn't! She was his friend after all and so was Remus! But that wasn't just it, an inner voice screamed at him. There's more to it. He didn't want Sarah going out with Remus. He didn't want that at all. He wanted to go out with Sarah. He wanted to be the one to ask her out and go on dates. He wanted to be the one to give her kisses and hold her and make her frowns disappear. He didn't want to see Sirius in his spot.  
He shook his head. Sarah would never like him. He was a werewolf after all. He couldn't take such chances. He curled up in his bed. God he wished the day would end. This had to be the lousiest birthday in his life. Then he stretched out and his foot kicked something. He looked down where his feet were. What was that? A box? Well, it had funny paper wrapped around it. Why would one of his birthday presents be on his bed and this late at night? He reached down and picked up the box. Then, with a sigh, he opened it.  
  
Well that's it for now!! I hope you guys enjoy this!! I shall try to write another chapter before break is over but I'm not making any promises! Just let me know what you guys think! Hehe prolly not good, I'm sari :'( But I hope some of you enjoyed it! Anyways, I'll try to move the story along for those of you that care!! :) Katy 


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